OSRS Cooking Guide

Build a high-confidence Cooking training plan

Updated September 2026

Cooking has multiple strong routes depending on your preference: fastest XP, AFK profit, or F2P progression. Choose your lane first, then execute toward your next milestone.

On this page

12 sections

What Is Your Best Cooking Method Right Now?

Pick your route by click intensity, speed target, and GP preference. Then commit to one method until your next checkpoint.

Choose Your Planning Track

Fastest XP1-Tick KarambwansMaximum speed route with higher click intensity and strong throughput.Medium
AFK ProfitFish Cooking ProgressionRelaxed training with stable XP and long-term profitability.Low
Low Time to 99Wine/Karambwan FocusPush fast completion with concentrated high-XP methods.Medium to High
F2P RouteSwordfish/Wine ProgressionViable F2P path with clear speed vs profit tradeoffs.Low to Medium

Build My Cooking Plan Start with prebuilt routes

Method Comparison Arena

Compare speed, cost profile, and effort to choose the most sustainable route for your play sessions.

High-Confidence Training Routes

Route 1Fast 99 RouteEarly setup -> high-XP methods (karambwan/wine) -> 99 pushTarget: 99

Route 2AFK Profit RouteFish progression with gauntlets + optimized locationsOutcome: 99 with profit

Route 3Diary RouteFocus on practical breakpoints (70/84/90/95) before full 99Outcome: Goal-based milestones

Route 4F2P RouteSwordfish or wine progression based on GP vs speed preferenceTarget: 99

Milestones That Matter

70: Major quest progression unlock.
84: Important diary breakpoint.
90: Wilderness elite requirement.
95: Varrock elite requirement.
99: Final convenience and completionist goal.

Execution Checklist

Choose route by speed vs profit preference.
Use gauntlets and location optimization early.
Train to milestone breakpoints first.
Re-plan at 70, 84, 90, and 95.

🎯 Why Train Cooking?

Recipe for Disaster

Requires 70 Cooking to complete and unlock Barrows Gloves - BiS gloves for most activities!

Achievement Diaries

• Varrock Elite: 95 Cooking
• Wilderness Elite: 90 Cooking
• Kourend Elite: 84 Cooking

Ironman Accounts

Essential for providing food for Slayer and PvM activities. Self-sufficient food supply!

🔥 Cooking Basics

Cooking Gauntlets (Essential!)

Significantly decrease burn rate for lobsters, swordfish, monkfish, sharks, and anglerfish. A must-have for efficient training!

How to Obtain: Complete the Family Crest quest

Note: Some players think they work on Karambwans, but Mod Ash confirmed this is false.

Understanding Burn Rates

You occasionally burn food while cooking. Several factors affect your burn rate:

🔥 Fire vs Range

Fires have higher burn rates than ranges. Always use a range when possible!

🧤 Cooking Gauntlets

Decrease burn rate for specific foods (lobster, swordfish, monkfish, sharks, anglerfish)

🏛️ Hosidius Kitchen

Clay oven has 5% higher success rate (10% with Elite Kourend diary)

📊 Your Level

Higher Cooking level = lower burn rate. Eventually you stop burning completely!

Stop Burning Levels (Hosidius + Gauntlets):

Lobster: 60

Swordfish: 76

Monkfish: 82

Sharks: 89

Anglerfish: 93

📍 Best Cooking Locations

#1 Myths' Guild 🏆

Most convenient location

0 tiles from bank!

Requirements: Dragon Slayer 2 quest

Teleport: Myths' Cape teleport

Benefit: Range (better burn rate than fire)

Why Best: Perfect bank-to-range distance, no walking required!

#2 Hosidius Kitchen

Lowest burn rate

+5-10% success

Requirements: Kourend Easy Diary

Teleport: Khardest Memoirs to Hosidius

Benefit: Clay oven - 5% increased success (10% with Elite diary)

Distance: 6 tiles from bank

Best For: Training expensive foods where burn rate matters

#3 Rogues' Den

No quest requirements

Next to bank

Requirements: None

Teleport: Games necklace to Burthorpe

Downside: Fire (higher burn rate than range)

Best For: Players without Dragon Slayer 2, social spot with other players

💡 Recommendation: Use Myths' Guild if you have it, or Rogues' Den if not. Use Hosidius only when you need the lowest possible burn rate.

😴 AFK Cooking Path (Profitable)

Train AFK while making profit by cooking fish. Perfect for most players!

Fish Progression Table

Levels	Fish	Quantity	XP/hr	Profit	Time
1-5	Sardine	10	N/A	-300 gp	Fast
5-10	Herring	16	N/A	-96 gp	Fast
10-15	Mackerel	21	N/A	+231 gp	Fast
15-20	Trout	30	N/A	-1.2k gp	Fast
20-25	Pike	43	N/A	+2.5k gp	Fast
25-30	Salmon	62	N/A	-992 gp	Fast
30-40	Tuna	239	85k	+956 gp	17 min
40-68	Lobster	4,732	120k	+57k gp	4.5 hrs
68-80	Monkfish	9,207	165k	+1.1M gp	8.5 hrs
80-84	Shark	4,597	275k	+1.0M gp	3.5 hrs
84-91	Anglerfish	12,833	305k	+2.9M gp	10 hrs
91-99	Manta Ray	32,971	285k	+9.3M gp	25 hrs

💰 Total Profit 1-99: ~14M GP over ~52 hours of AFK training! Check current raw and cooked fish prices on 07.gg's GE tracker to calculate your actual profit margins before buying supplies in bulk.

⚡ Fastest Way to 99 Cooking

Levels 30-99: 1-Tick Karambwans 🏆

Fastest XP and profitable!

500-900k XP/hr

~19 hours to 99

1-ticking Karambwans is surprisingly easy compared to other tick manipulation methods! It's the fastest Cooking XP in the game.

How It Works:

Use Rogues' Den or Myths' Guild (NOT Hosidius)
Have raw Karambwans in inventory
Follow 1-tick rhythm (watch tutorial video)
Bank and repeat

💰 Profit: 68,532 Karambwans from 30-99 = 13M GP profit!

⚠️ Training Tip: Do 30-minute sessions (1-tick for 30 min, AFK for 30 min). Much more sustainable than hours of 1-ticking!

🎥 Tutorial: Search "Carpal tunnel free way to 1-tick karambwan" on YouTube for the technique

Levels 35-99: Jugs of Wine

Fastest non-tick-manipulation method

500k XP/hr

~26 hours to 99

Not AFK, but simple: combine 14 jugs of water + 14 grapes in your inventory, bank, repeat.

⚠️ Burn Rate: Until level 68, you can create "bad jug of wine" (like burning food)

💸 Cost: Loses ~4M GP from 35-99. Fast but expensive!

🦾 Ironman Tip: Karambwans are the best Cooking training method! AFK fish them with a Fishing Barrel from Tempoross, then 1-tick cook for massive XP. Great food source for bossing too!

🆓 F2P Cooking Guide

Best Cooking Location

Lumbridge kitchen range (after Cook's Assistant quest). This range stops burning food earlier than other ranges!

Downside: Must bank upstairs in Lumbridge Castle

AFK Path (Profitable)

Levels	Fish	Quantity	Profit	Time
1-5	Sardine	10	-180 gp	Fast
5-10	Herring	16	-2k gp	Fast
10-15	Mackerel	21	-2k gp	Fast
15-20	Trout	30	-2k gp	Fast
20-25	Pike	43	-3k gp	Fast
25-30	Salmon	62	+1k gp	Fast
30-40	Tuna	239	+14k gp	17 min
40-45	Lobster	203	+28k gp	12 min
45-99	Swordfish	92,664	+7.5M gp	79 hrs

Fast Path

Jugs of Wine work in F2P! Same method as P2P (35-99 at 500k XP/hr).

💡 Best of Both Worlds: Train Swordfish for profit, or Wines for speed - both available in F2P!

📊 Cooking Calculator

Plan your Cooking training with our calculator:

Calculate:

✓ Food needed for level goals
✓ Expected XP rates
✓ Time to reach 99
✓ Profit/loss estimates
✓ Burn rate by level

Features:

✓ All cooking methods
✓ Real-time GE prices
✓ Equipment bonuses
✓ Location comparisons
✓ Custom level ranges

Open Cooking Calculator →

Frequently Asked Questions

01What's the fastest way to 99 Cooking?

1-tick Karambwans from 30-99 (500-900k XP/hr, ~19 hours). Profitable too! Jugs of Wine are 500k XP/hr (~26 hours) but cost 4M GP.

02What's the best AFK method?

Cook fish from low to high level. Use the progression table above. AFK, profitable (~14M profit to 99), and takes ~52 hours.

03Do I need Cooking Gauntlets?

Yes! They significantly reduce burn rate for lobsters, swordfish, monkfish, sharks, and anglerfish. Get them from Family Crest quest.

04What's the best cooking location?

Myths' Guild (0 tiles from bank) if you have Dragon Slayer 2. Otherwise, Rogues' Den. Use Hosidius only when burn rate matters.

05Is 1-tick Karambwan difficult?

It's the easiest tick manipulation method! Much simpler than 3-tick fishing or 1.5t woodcutting. Watch a tutorial video and practice for 5 minutes.

06Can F2P players get 99 Cooking?

Yes! Cook Swordfish 45-99 (79 hours, 7.5M profit), or do Jugs of Wine 35-99 (26 hours, loses 4M GP). Both work in F2P!

07When do I stop burning food?

With Hosidius + Cooking Gauntlets: Lobster 60, Swordfish 76, Monkfish 82, Sharks 89, Anglerfish 93. Check burn level chart on OSRS Wiki!

📚 Related Guides

🎣

Herblore Guide

Make potions

📊

Cooking Calculator

Plan your training

Sources & methodology

XP rates, requirements, and drop data in this guide are cross-checked against the OSRS Wiki and verified against in-game behaviour. Grand Exchange prices move daily, so treat GP/hr figures as estimates and confirm current prices with the OSRS Wiki price tracker before committing to a method.

Darren

Darren started playing the original RuneScape 2 back in the day and came back when Old School RuneScape launched. He's played on and off over the years and built OSRSToolkit to give players a single place to find reliable tools, calculators, and guides — all informed by real in-game experience.